Orde said the biggest threat, at this time, was posed by the loyalist organisations - shooting at nationalists and shooting at each other.

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I am beginning to understand that it isn't mere organized crime vexing the Brits; It's armed Non-Governmental Organizations.
NGOs powerful enough to require "ceasefire" agreements.
As understand it, this all stems from the British oppression of the Irish.
True, or no?

Are we having a philosophical discussion here, or am I being reprimanded?

In the most general sense, true. Understand that the six counties comprising what is called Northern Ireland is where all the troubles are. When the rest of Ireland was liberated from the Brits in 1920-22, it was agreed that these six counties would remain in the British Empire. The Brits demanded this because during their occupation of Ireland, they had "imported" tens of thousands of Scots and Welch into the area, and they were afraid that these Protestant "Orangemen" would be persecuted in a Catholic majority country. Also, that corner of the country had most of the industry at the time.
As it turned out the Irish Republic treats its Protestant citizens a hell of a lot better than the Catholics have been treated in the north. The Republic's tricolor flag even has an Orange stripe on it.
Given that the current troubles in the north were mainly started by the Catholic IRA, the Protestant militias have, in recent years, been far more murderous than the Catholics ever thought of being. What the Brits haven't lerned is that they can pass all the gun confiscation laws they want to. It won't stop terrorists, whether Catholic or Protestant from getting weapons.
UP THE REPUBLIC! [:D]